


A Fire Burns Bright

by payneberry



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Children, Camping, Children, F/F, First Kiss, Scouts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-20
Updated: 2012-08-20
Packaged: 2017-11-12 12:59:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/491291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/payneberry/pseuds/payneberry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rachel goes camping with her girl scout troop, hoping to prove herself. She learns a lot more than she plans on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Fire Burns Bright

**Author's Note:**

> This is not a prequel or anything. Just the Glee girls plucked from canon and molded to take care of some nostalgic scouting feelings I was having.

“Don’t forget to floss, baby,” her daddy says as he kisses her on the forehead before climbing back into the minivan, leaving Rachel standing in the middle of the parking lot, clad in her green vest covered in badges that make Rachel feel dignified.

Rachel is running on all kinds of adrenaline. Her dads had fussed over her and tried to convince her that sleeping outside was not something that the Berry family did, but Rachel was determined. She was eager to prove herself – that she could fend for herself in the wilderness – or whatever kind of wilderness Camp Butterworth had to offer. Quinn might be lamenting the lack of hair dryers and Brittany had asked if they’d still be able to watch _My Little Pony_ in the morning, but not Rachel. Sure, she would miss her dads tucking her into bed with a hot cup of honey chamomile tea and she’d have to make do with campfire songs instead of her detailed vocal exercises, but it was only for one weekend. Rachel Berry was a big girl – eleven going on twelve; she could do it.

Gathering up her backpack, sleeping bag, and the tote that contained her tent, she marches over to where the rest of her troop is mulling around near Mrs. Pierce’s SUV, their own bags strewn about as Mercedes and Tina attempt to make everything fit in the hatchback.

“Hey, dwarf,” a voice calls from inside the vehicle.

“Hi, Santana,” Rachel replies, sweetly. She decided a long time ago she wasn’t going to let Santana’s insults get to her. Or, at least she wasn’t going to let it show.

“Hi, Rachel,” Tina says when she sees her, running over to give her a hug. “Aren’t you excited? I’m so excited. This weekend is going to be so much fun.”

“Yeah, I’m really excited,” Rachel nods in agreement. “I even brought my book of campfire songs,” she says enthusiastically to which both Tina and Mercedes give a small cheer.

“Oh great, we’re gonna have to listen to Liza sing all weekend,” Santana says from the backseat.

“Like you’re not going to sing along,” Rachel hears Quinn says from behind her sunglasses as she climbs into the car, sitting in the backseat next to Santana. Rachel can’t really explain why that makes her stomach flutter as she gets into the front seat next to Mrs. Pierce.

“I don’t know who Liza is,” Brittany says, diving over the middle seats and squishing herself between Quinn and Santana, “but I’m excited to meet her and I’m excited for you to sing, Rachel. You’re voice is like what birthday cake sounds like.”

“Aw,” Rachel says, like that’s a normal complement. “Thanks, Britt.”  
Soon after, Mercedes and Tina have finally figured out the puzzle of backpacks and sleeping bags and close the hatch before crawling into the middle seats.

“Alright, Troop 576,” Mrs. Pierce says from driver’s seat. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

+

It’s surprising how quick and easy setting up the site is, especially considering Brittany and Santana’s tendency to goof off, whether it’s having a sword fight with the tent poles or pretending to be Buffy with the stakes. It only takes an hour for them to set up the four tents, and from the condition of the others, Rachel is very glad she had her own.

Rachel double checks the tarp on her tent before crawling inside and laying out her sleeping bag before organizing her supplies, taking out her mess kit to bring it over towards the picnic table in the middle of the camp site.

“Well, aren’t you prepared,” Santana smirks as Rachel walks over to where the rest of the girls are sitting.

“Isn’t that our motto?” Rachel replies, sitting down next to Mercedes. “ _Always be prepared_.”

Santana just gives her a sly smile that Rachel tries to decipher but she’s interrupted when Mrs. Pierce comes over, carrying nature pamphlets for each of the girls.

“Okay, girls, who’s ready for a little funsational and educational hike?” she says to her troop. Santana and Quinn groan, but the rest of the girls eagerly grab pamphlets from Mrs. Pierce.

“I hope I can find a four leaf clover,” Brittany says, bouncing on her heels and pushing her pigtail braids over her shoulders.

Making sure her boots are tied tightly, with her socks folded tightly around them, Rachel pulls out a bottle of bug repellant, spraying a light stream over her legs and arms, until a shadow lingers over her, drawing her attention upward.

“Can I get some?” Santana says, her tone somehow soothing and Rachel just nods, handing the bottle over. “Thanks,” she says as she bends down to cover her legs in a light mist of the chemical substance.

“Sure,” Rachel chokes out over the fumes. Santana turns and smiles at her and all Rachel can do is smile back. Santana Lopez is being nice to her. It’s kind of shock to her system, even if it is just for bug spray.

+

Their hike is less than adventurous. Mrs. Pierce keeps pulling Brittany away from what looks to be poison oak and Quinn is moaning about the blisters her new boots are causing.

Rachel doesn’t mind though. The trail is lovely and she’s enjoying matching up the local flora to her guidebook with Tina and Mercedes as the girls all giggle about how cute Sam Evans is.

On the way back, Rachel falls behind a little, getting lost in her thoughts, as the sun begins to set. Imagining herself as Little Red Ridinghood in _Into the Woods_ , she softly hums “I Know Things Now” before scaring herself a little and firmly stopping that fantasy in its tracks. She doesn’t hear Santana approach which startles her even more when the other girl jumps up from behind her.

“What are you humming?” Santana asks.

“Oh, nothing,” Rachel replies as she glances around for Brittany and Quinn, knowing Santana doesn’t separate herself from them for too long. “It’s just – it’s from a musical. You probably wouldn’t like it.”

“How do you know what I like, Berry?” Santana says and leaves Rachel with her mouth hanging open as she runs to catch up with the rest of the group.

She hears something rattle in the bushes causing her to quickly follow Santana’s lead.

+

They’re gathered around the campfire, that Mrs. Pierce and Tina expertly setup. Rachel has two marshmallows on the end of one of the sticks Brittany had gathered for them, turning it slowly over the fire, letting the flames lick the sugary confection until it’s just the perfect golden color Rachel is seeking.

“You gotta just let it burn,” Santana says, setting herself down on the log next to Rachel, prodding her own marshmallow into the fire until it ignites. Rachel gasps. “I’m telling you, Berry, it’s better this way. Like charcoal on the outside, but warm and melty on the inside. So good,” she says as she blows the flame out before picking at the crispy coating with her fingers.

“That looks disgusting,” Rachel says before she can help herself, making a face as Santana bites into the gooey messy.

“Suit yourself,” Santana says, her mouth full, getting up to join Quinn and Brittany on the opposite side of the fire.

Rachel watches as she goes, admiring the way she lithely bounces, her pink hiking boots delightfully crunching the leaves on the ground.

“What was that about?” Tina says, sliding closer to Rachel.

“What do you mean?” Rachel asks, confused, as Mercedes sits down on her other side.

“Santana has been all over you today,” Mercedes says, nudging Rachel a little and handing her two graham crackers.

“I – what? No she hasn’t,” Rachel says, kind of indignant as she squishes her marshmallows between the crackers.

“You didn’t put any chocolate on there,” Tina exclaims, a little horrified.

“Chocolate isn’t vegan,” Rachel says, before biting in. “And Santana hasn’t been _all over_ me or whatever. She’s just being... nice. She’s been nice,” this time she says with her mouth full.

“And you don’t think that’s a little weird,” Tina says, suppressing a laugh.

Rachel doesn’t really have time to think about how weird Santana’s civility is because then the girls are swapping ghost stories and Santana tells a particularly nasty one about a witch who lived in a cottage not far from here and the things she’d do to little girls who hummed in the woods.

+

After washing up and, of course, remembering to floss, Rachel says goodnight to the rest of the girls before climbing into her tent and getting into her sleeping bag.

She knows Santana’s story is dumb and 100% fictional, but when the branches scrape along the side of her tent, Rachel finds herself gasping and her heart racing a little. She laughs at herself but still can’t find it in herself to turn off her flashlight. Instead, Rachel rolls over and pulls out a torn up copy of her favorite _Baby-sitters Club_ book and tries to soothe herself with the adventures of Stacey McGill that she knows by heart.

When it starts to rain Rachel is thankful she double checked her tarp and pulls the flannel interior of her sleeping bag around her tighter. She only jumps a little when a flash of lightning illuminates her tent and clap of thunder follows briefly, echoing through the canvas. The rain begins to pour so hard that she doesn’t hear the footsteps approaching when someone raps on the side of her tent, which actually does cause Rachel to screech.

“Relax, Berry, it’s just me,” Santana says before she’s climbing in, dragging her sleeping bag along with her.

“Santana, what are you doing?” Rachel asks as soon as she’s able to get her heart out of her throat.

Santana shrugs before saying, “My side of our tent has a hole in it,” shaking out her hair which splashes a little in Rachel’s face. “Is it cool if I spend the night in here? I mean, your tent is huge and you’re a pygmy.”

“Um – yeah, it’s fine, I guess,” Rachel replies, blinking up at Santana. “What about Quinn and Brittany?”

“They’ll be fine. Of course, it was only _my_ side of the tent that had to rip.”

“It wouldn’t have ripped if you took better care of it,” Rachel insists, pulling her book out again as Santana finds a comfortable spot to lay out her sleeping bag.

“But then I wouldn’t get to spend this lovely evening with you, Berry,” she says as she lays out on the red nylon, her elbow brushing against Rachel’s forearm.

“I guess,” is all Rachel can say before she’s turning over, trying to get some space from the other girl so she can fall asleep.

“What do you think you’re doing, Rachel?” Santana says and Rachel is kind of shocked by the way her own name sounds in the other girls mouth that all she can do is turn back over and give Santana a questionable look. “You can’t go to sleep yet,” Santana explains, “we need to tell stories and shit.”

“Santana, your last story was plenty for tonight,” Rachel replies, trying not to be scandalized by the other girl’s filthy vocabulary.

Santana rolls her eyes and pulls Rachel over by her hips so the two girls are facing each other, their knees knocking through the fabric of Rachel’s sleeping bag. “Not like _ghost stories_. I mean, like gossip and boy talk and those normal things you do at sleepovers.”

“Oh. Well, I’ve never been on a sleepover before, so I don’t really know...” she trails off, wanting to hide her face from the other girl but Santana is so close, she has nowhere to go.

Santana ignores her. “Really? Well, I guess I can – you want to play never have I ever? That’s a good place to start, I think.”

“I don’t know what that is,” Rachel says, still feeling mortified.

“Okay, well,” Santana starts, propping herself up on her elbows so she can see Rachel better. “Usually you play with alcohol but since we obviously can’t do that, we can just play ten fingers. So what you do is, hold up both hands –” she demonstrates, holding out her hands so Rachel can see her palms “– and we take turns saying things we’ve never done and if the other one has done it, they have to put a finger down. Got it?”

Rachel nods and holds up her hands. “I think so.”

“Okay. So, I’ll start,” Santana says, clearing her throat. “Never have I ever had sex.”

“Oh my God!” Rachel exclaims. “That’s disgusting.”

“Hey, we might as well start off good,” she says, quirking her eyebrows. “Your turn.”

Um,” Rachel stutters. She has absolutely no idea what to say that will make Santana think she’s cool or whatever so she goes with, “Never have I ever failed a test.”

“Really?” Santana drolls but seems a little embarrassed as she folds her left thumb in. “I suck at math, okay?” she shrugs before taking her turn again.

They play back and forth until both girls are down to one hand, Santana having found Rachel’s secret shame of still kissing all of her stuffed animals good night. Still, embarrassing aspects aside, Rachel finds a lot of comfort sharing these bits with Santana. The other girl doesn’t mock her as much had Rachel thought she would and, of course, Rachel’s getting her own dirt on Santana too. It’s like she was trusting Rachel with these secrets or something. Whatever it is, it’s nice.

It comes around to Rachel’s turn again and she manages the courage to say, “Never have I ever kissed someone before.” As soon as the words fall out of her mouth, she hiding her face in her hands.

She only looks up when she hears Santana say, “Really?” and Rachel notices that all of her previous fingers are still up.

“You’ve never kissed someone, Santana?” Rachel asks without thinking.

Santana blinks like she’s trying to make a decision and then decidedly shakes her head.

“Oh,” Rachel says, looking down at the chipped polish on her fingernails.

“Do you want to?” she hears Santana say and Rachel has no idea what that’s supposed to mean.

“Do I want to what?”

“Kiss me,” Santana says, staring as Rachel, waiting for her to look back at her.

“I – don’t. Do you want me to want to?” she asks, really confused as to how this camping trip had turn into Santana Lopez propositioning her for a kiss.

“Just like, for practice or something,” Santana says and Rachel can kind of tell she doesn’t really mean that.

Yet, she finds herself agreeing, “Yeah, sure. For practice,” and she’s sitting up as Santana smiles at her.

Santana leans in, eyes closed, and Rachel can feel her breath on her cheek; it sends a chill down her spine. Rachel takes a deep breath and then Santana’s lips are pressed against the bow of Rachel’s own lips. They linger for a few seconds before the girls pull apart and Rachel has to gasp for breath. Rachel thinks that kissing is kind of weird, but also kind of nice too.

She opens her eyes to see Santana smiling at her, as she makes a show of folding down her pinky.

+

The next day is beautiful and the girls spend most of the day at the campgrounds’ pool. When nighttime comes, Santana bunks with Rachel again, complaining to the other girls about the puddle still on her side of the tent. Rachel hopes that’s not the only reason.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the ever popular, traditional scouting song "Make New Friends".


End file.
